AMERICAN LITERATURE END OF COURSE TEST

Time Periods and Literary Terms

How to Succeed on the EOCTRead everything carefully (ALL

PASSAGES!!!).There are no trick questions.Consider every choice.Guess intelligently.Spend time wisely (Do not get stuck on a

hard question—move on). You have approximately 90 seconds per question.

Check your answers (Make sure you are marking the correct question, etc.)

During the test . . .this works! this doesn’t work!

Read all passagesPassages may be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.Some students like to read the questions first to

know what they are looking for. This is a good technique. However, I would recommend that you read the questions and NOT the answer choices.

If questions refer to specific paragraphs or lines, then mark the paragraphs or lines in your test book with the question number.

Read the passage and attack the questions one by one as you get to them. You will need to read the entire passage. Refer back to the passage as needed.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WITHOUT READING THE PASSAGE!

Reading ComprehensionYou can write on your test booklet so as you

read, circle vocabulary words and mark figurative language.

The theme (main idea) of a non-fiction passage is usually found in the last two sentences of the first paragraph.

BY THE WAY . . . Have I mentioned you need to READ ALL PASSAGES!

Time periodsEarly American (Colonial and Native

American)RevolutionaryRomanticismRealism and NaturalismModernismPostmodernismContemporary/Innovation and

Experimentation

Early American (Colonial & Native American)1492-1789Genres: Sermons, diaries, personal narratives,

histories, legends, myths, slave narrativesThemes: Instructive, reinforcing authority of the

Bible and church, work hard to gain heaven, Native American reverence for nature

People were settling the country so they were more concerned about survival than about creating stories for entertainment.

Examples: Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Equiano’s Narrative

Revolutionary1776-1820What happened in 1776?? The American RevolutionGenres: Political pamphlets, travel writing, very

ornate, persuasive writing (persuading Americans to fight for freedom), beginning of novels of adventure

Themes: Patriotism, freedom, satire, reason, common sense, the American character

Examples: writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Patrick Henry (“give me liberty, or give me death”), Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle,” Cooper’s tales of Natty Bumppo

THINK: REASON, INTELLECT, INDEPENDENCE

Romanticism & Transcendentalism1820-1860: Industrial Revolution was going onFinally, America is done with original settling issues

and has achieved independence . . . Now it is time for some CREATIVITY!

Genres: Slave narratives, essays, novels (word meant “new”, short stories, abolitionist writing (remember we are right before the Civil War), poetry

Themes: Value feeling and intuition over reason, individualism, nature and freedom of the imagination, idea that self reliance brings happiness

Edgar Allan Poe, Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” Thoreau’s Walden

THINK: EMOTIONS, BEAUTY AND POWER OF NATURE, GOING BEYOND THE LOGICAL

Realism and Naturalism1860-1914 What happened here? Civil War, Reconstruction,

beginning of World War IAttempt to present life as it really is (without the

sugar coating)Genres: Novels, short stories, poetry, real life

portrayal of characters and setting, dialect, local colorThemes: limited freedom of people, good and evil in

real people, success leads to greed, illusion versus reality, racism vs. social progress

Naturalism took realism a step further and showed individuals at mercy of an uncaring and sometimes cruel universe

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jack London, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce

Modernism1900-1945What happened here? World War I, Roaring 20s,

Great Depression, World War IIGenres: Novels, short stories, experimental styles

such as stream of consciousness, poetry; influence of psychology

Themes: Pursuit of American Dream, disillusionment, fragmentation, loss of identity, overcoming obstacles, racial inequality, social criticism.

The Great Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, Of Mice and Men, short stories of Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Faulkner

Postmodernism/Contemporary1945-presentWhat has happened? World War II, Cold War,

terrorism, growth of technology (fax machines, computers, internet, cell phones)

Genres: Fantasy mixed with nonfiction, blurs lines of reality, social issues (feminist, ethnic groups), science fiction, demonstrates influence of technology

Themes: brutality of war, struggle for equality, search for happiness, anxiety in modern life, love vs. loneliness

Colonial/Early American

Revolutionary

Romanticism

Realism & Naturalism

Modernism

Disillusionment; loss of identity

Emotion; individualism; nature

Bible; work ethic; instructive

Freedom; reason; patriotism

Real life; criticism; man’s limits

Match the time period to theme:

Must-know literary terms

Devices of SoundAlliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the

beginning of words (Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers—don’t you notice that “p” sound?)

Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds followed by different end sounds (I like to drive my car at night—do you hear the long “i” sound?)

Onomatopoeia: use of words whose sound suggests meaning (Boom boom pow)

Rhyme: using words with the same end sound (can be at the end of the lines, within the lines of poetry; can also be close but not exact—approximate or slant rhyme)

Figurative LanguageAllusion: Reference in literature to an earlier

person, piece of literature, historical event, etc.Metaphor: Comparison between two unlike

things; often it is when you speak of one thing as another (Katy Perry says, “’Cause baby you’re a firework . . .”)

Personification: Giving human characteristics to something that is not human (

Simile: Comparison between two things using like or as (also may use than or resembles)

Symbol: Something concrete that represents something abstract

Other Literary TechniquesFlashback: Technique where the narrator goes

back in time to talk about an earlier eventForeshadowing: Hints or clues an author gives

to suggest what is going to happen laterIrony: Contrast between expectation and

realityVerbal: Contrast between what is said and meantSituational: When you are led to expect one

outcome and the opposite happensDramatic: When the readers know what the

characters do not

Other Literary TechniquesPoint of view: perspective from which a story is

told1st person: Narrator is a character in the story; uses

the pronoun “I” frequently3rd person limited: Narrator is an outside observer

but gives the thoughts and feelings of one character; uses he/she/they

3rd person omniscient: Narrator is an outside observer, but is able to present thoughts and feelings of several different characters; uses he/she/they

Theme: central unifying concept of a literary work